Needles and Pins
by elfmaiden4legs
Summary: An alternative ending scinario for the end of 'A Coffin for Starsky', Huch too recieves a dose of the fatal toxin when he visits the Professor's house. Now it's a race against time to save Starsky's life as Hutch's life also hangs in the balance!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Hutch felt the prick of the needle as he reached to grab it from the Professor's hand, feeling the cold trickle as a small but potent dose of the potentially deadly liquid was deposited into a vein. Recoiling immediately as he finally gained control and possession of the syringe and its toxic contents, he felt the burning and sting of the hollow steel's point of entry, as painful as a wasp sting but as though he was being stung repeatedly over and over again, and tried to shake it off, squeezing the injured limb between his armpit and torso in a moment of instinct, before cupping it in his other hand in order to take a closer look at the tiny wound.

The old man smiled triumphantly before grasping Hutch by the collar of his shirt with surprising strength for a man of such frail appearance, and dragging him within a few inches distance of his wrinkled face.

"Sweet dreams pig." He muttered, out of earshot of his daughter. "To you and your partner." Before breaking down in a fit of fake tears.

Cheryl was by Hutch's side in an instant however, doing her best to scoop his wounded hand into her own warm palms in order to take a closer look at the swollen pink and purple welt which was now beginning to form on the back of his hand below his knuckle.

"Hutch!" She exclaimed, a note of quiet panic creeping into her tone at this. "Are you alright?" She asked. "Did it prick you?"

"It's nothing Cheryl." Hutch did his best to reassure her however. "It's just a scratch."

Time was of the essence bow for Starsky, who only had hours left to live if he didn't get the antidote to the toxin soon, and although Hutch knew that the dosage of the drug he'd received wasn't enough to put him in any immediate danger it was still enough to make him very ill very quickly.

"Even so Hutch," Cheryl pressed with concern, "if any of the substance has entered your bloodstream you're going to need emergency medical treatment… perhaps I should call…"

"No…" Hutch cut in venomously with this however cutting her words mid sentence and disrupting the flow of what she'd been about to say, "not a word of this to anyone Cheryl, do you understand? Not a word…"

She nodded.

"I've got the serum now… with any luck the doctor's should be able to find the chemical combination in time to save Starsky."

"But Hutch…" Cheryl protested the blonde haired detective's decision, although he simply fixed her with an icy stare, the clear cool blue of his eyes only made his glance appear unusually cold and signified to her that that was the end of the conversation.

"I'd estimate that I've got at least forty-eight hours before the effects of the toxin become fatal, that's more than enough time for the doctor's to find out what's wrong with Starsky and cure him, you just take care of your father." He insisted as he rushed to the front door of the old Professor's apartment, the burning sting to the back of his hand had subsided somewhat now, to be replaced by a dull ache and localised numbness, and he suddenly realised that the clock was still ticking for his best friend and partner.

"Hutch… just promise me you will be careful." Cheryl called after him, as she bent down beside her still sobbing father, wrapping her slender arms around his torso in a reassuring gesture of comfort. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid, as soon as Starsky receives the antidote you make sure you get a shot to."

He looked at her and smiled. "I will." He promised, as he stepped out into the vast University campus, before closing the front door behind him.

He sighed to himself as he felt the cool evening breeze against his face, caressing his hot cheeks and whipping up tufts of his thick blonde hair, reminding him of what it felt like to be alive. Starsky wasn't dead yet, and neither was he… they both still had some fight in them yet, and now, if Starsky didn't make it Hutch wouldn't have to wait very long until he too suffered the same fate, for there was no life for Hutch without Starsky.

"Besides… Starsky would never forgive me." He muttered to himself as he made his way over to where he'd parked the Ford Gran Torino, Starsky's beloved and treasured car.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

By the time Hutch reached he hospital he was already beginning to feel the ill effects of the toxin, he felt dizzy and nauseous as the adrenaline continued to course through his veins, and the sweat was pouring profusely from his brow.

He charged into the emergency room like a boulder shot from a cannon, throwing the large whitewashed doors aside with such velocity that they ricocheted violently off the supporting walls, making several people; both patients and medical personal alike, turn to look at him as he rushed by.

By the time he'd raced up several flights of stairs and reached the floor and ward to which he knew Starsky had been moved to, he was already struggling to catch his breath as he drew the cold air into his lungs with long, rattling gasps, and grimaced as each cool wave wracked his chest and abdomen with the worst bout of cramps he'd ever experienced. Cheryl had explained to them both earlier on that the toxin was a powerful compound which would eventually inhibit the bodies ability to carry out many of its usual functions; to sweat, to swallow, to speak, to breathe… eventually Hutch knew that his body would shut down, he'd slip into a coma, and he'd die.

Even so he handed the syringe and its contents over to the doctors, rubbing at the tiny puncture wound on the back of his hand now inflamed with pink and purple bruising. He massaged his ribs as another succession of cramps seized him. He was finding it increasingly difficult to swallow, and was by now soaked and dripping with sweat as he was no longer able to regulate his own body temperature. Captain Dobey glanced at him, frowning with concern, however the doctor's simply took the hypodermic from his slightly shaking fingers, accepting it with some degree of urgency and racing off in the direction of their laboratories in order to dissect the exact chemical compound of the toxic substance before it was too late. Hutch began to wonder why it was that it had taken several hours before Starsky had started to present with any outward sign of symptoms, and yet he'd started to feel the ill effects after only a few minutes. However he accepted that the adrenaline still coursing through his veins would undoubtedly carry the poison through his system faster. After they'd gone he took a seat in the waiting room beside Captain Dobey.

"I've done everything I can for Starsky now Captain." Hutch sighed as he rubbed his tired eyes wearily and held his head in his hands. His breathing was becoming easier and much more controlled now that he was able to sit and concentrate on the rhythm of breathing one breath at a time, although he still felt that he had the weight of the world resting up against his chest. "It's down to the doctors now."

"You did everything you could." Captain Dobey nodded. "You have nothing to reproach yourself for."

"But that's the point." Hutch growled. "I do! It still isn't enough, it still doesn't guarantee Starsky's life."

"But Hutch," Dobey soothed the normally level headed police officer, "nothing can guarantee that."

"I'd do anything for Starsky Captain." Hutch suddenly exclaimed as he leapt from his seat, his panic and anxiety coupled with the increasing pain of the cramps, giving him fresh venom. "You know that. I'd give my life for him."

"Hutch are you alright?" Captain Dobey asked, noticing the rise and fall of the young blonde's ribcage become more rapid as Hutch became more agitated and started to gasp for breath.

The detective reached up to undo the top button of his collar, mopping the sweat from his brow as the room suddenly began to spin. He shook his head.

"Captain I think I've done a really stupid thing." He wheezed.

"Why?" The Captain frowned, looking Hutch up and down as he observed the perspiration on his upper lip and brow, sweat dripping from him, running down his back and soaking his cloths.

"I've been poisoned." Hutch slurred before he finally passed out, and slumped forward as Captain Dobey leapt up to catch him as he fell.

"Well don't just stand there." The Captain barked at a confused looking orderly standing, watching nearby. "Fetch the doctor!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

******_Sorry it's taken a while to get this one out, also I'm sorry for how short it is, but it does need to be this brief! Enjoy!_**

When Hutch regained consciousness he was consciously aware of a buzz of activity going on around him. Searing pain and cramps wracked his whole body, and he heard disembodied voices, one of which he was sure was Captain Dobey.

Despite his understandable disorientation he was also able to distinguish another familiar voice amongst them, the voice of the doctor who had initially treated Starsky. The tone was slightly frantic, although he was unable to distinguish what had been said. There was a sudden stabbing pain in the back of his hand, like a sharp pinch, and a strange cold beneath his skin which erupted into a searing burning coursing up the entire length of his arm. He heard an erratic bleeping, a high pitched drone which hurt his ears, and he realised immediately what it was, the whine of a heart monitor… Starsky was somewhere nearby, and he was dyeing. Hutch's heart broke as he realised there was nothing he could do.

As pain gripped Hutch's chest and he suddenly found it hard to breath he heard that familiar voice again.

"Get a crash cart in here stat, we're losing him."

The last thing Hutch thought of was Starsky, as unconsciousness yet again began to close in around him, and he prayed that his friend could hold on just a little while longer, before everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**So it's finally up, the final chapter! I hope you enjoy, and that this manages to explain the twist to chapter three... hopefully some of you managed to figure out that there was a small twist to my previous chapter, remember not everything is always as it first seemes! Now all that remains if for you to read, enjoy, and of course REVIEW!**

When Hutch regained consciousness he was lying on a soft mattress and covered in a warm sheet which smelt of a clinical cleanliness, which in his experience could only mean one thing… he was in hospital.

He checked himself mentally, gently moving each of his slightly throbbing limbs in turn, although everything seemed to be in order; everything intact, everything accounted for, nothing broken, and most importantly no pain… all except a sharp ache which radiated throughout his entire body, penetrating deep into his bones, his joint, and every muscle and ligament, making movement on any scale uneasy, and stiff.

There was a niggling feeling of loss, punctuated by a deep sadness at the back of his mind, of something missing, perhaps even grief… which he couldn't quite place his finger on.

He thought long and hard about how he'd come to be here, how he'd found himself in this bed again now, for not the first time in his long career. The process of thinking came back to him slowly at first, memories disjointed, and thoughts confused as it took a few moments for his head to clear… and then he suddenly remembered, Starsky.

Starsky; his partner, best friend, brother in both heart and soul, was dead, and it was all his fault. He'd failed to find an antidote for his friend in time, and now it was too late… he'd failed him, and now there was nothing more that Hutch could do.

He let out a strangled sob of grief as a silent despondency washed over him, and he thought to himself that if Starsky really was gone, if he was never coming back, then he too may as well be dead.

He couldn't face returning to the streets, the job they'd both loved, and been extremely good at, without his partner and best friend at his side. He couldn't face living without Starsky; they'd often been described as two halves of the same whole, two hearts with the same soul… the truth was that there really was no life without Hutch without Starsky.

Turning over onto his side and burrowing his head even deeper into the soft white pillow he wished the ground would just open up and consume him – body, heart, and soul – just to spare him this unbearable pain, as though a knife had been plunged deep into his soul, tearing out his heart.

He was just about the let grief take a complete hold, wash over him, and consume him, when he felt a warm and gentle fist squeeze his clammy palm.

"Hutch, Hutch can you hear me?" A soft whisper caressed his ear, and Hutch's heart immediately leapt as he recognised the voice immediately… Starsky.

His eyes shot open instantly, arms and legs flailing in all directions in his current state of grogginess, which he seemed unable to shake off, and his desperation to clarify the bizarre melody of muddled and disjointed thoughts and memories in his confused mind.

"Hey Hutch," Starsky immediately reached out a hand to steady and reassure his friend, gently pinning him against the bed in a bid to prevent him from doing himself any further damage, and tearing out the IV line which was beginning to ooze tiny droplets of blood as Hutch fought against his gentle hold.

"Hey Hutch, its Starsky." The curly haired brunette attempted to calm the violent outburst of the man laying in the bed before him. "You're in hospital… just try to relax… I'm going to fetch a doctor."

"No." Hutch groaned however, immediately reaching out to grab Starsky by the arm as he turned to leave.

"Don't go…" He begged, before suddenly realising that as he closed his fingers and palm around Starsky's elbow he clasped his fist around solid flesh and bone.

"Starsky!" He gasped in sudden realisation. "You're alive!"

"Of course I'm alive." His curly haired friend smiled down at his with this. "You didn't think a simple solution of a potent chemical cocktail could bring me down did you? Which is more than could be said for you."

Hutch smiled wearily in response, closing his eyes slightly as a sudden wave of exhaustion began to wash over him, his boy completely drained by the rash physical exertion held just subjected himself to, only a short while after having regained consciousness.

"Why don't you ask me that again when I'm a little less out of it." He grinned, before a frown suddenly passed across his face, deep furrows appearing in his brow with concern as he asked; "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Starsky nodded. "The cramps have eased, and the fever and sweats have gone."

Hutch nodded, evidently relieved to hear this.

"I thought I'd lost you." He sighed.

"I thought I'd lost you too." Starsky explained, and as Hutch looked to him the blonde haired detective could see the pain in Starsky's eyes, mirroring his own.

"What do you mean?" He frowned.

"Your heart stopped…" Starsky explained gravely, and Hutch could clearly see that this was a memory which obviously caused his friend a significant amount of pain. "They had to revive you twice." He continued. "The assumption was that you must have received a much more potent dose of the solution… coupled with the high levels of adrenaline pumping the cocktail through your veins this put your heart under a significant amount of strain, it simply couldn't cope with the pressure, and your body couldn't flush the drugs from your system… why didn't you tell somebody what had happened sooner?" He asked.

"You were dyeing Starsk." Hutch sighed in a strained response, averting his partner's gaze as he did his best to explain the situation. "I couldn't just let that pun get away with that, I couldn't just stand back and watch you die. I had to at least try and do something… I guess I though I had more time."

"And perhaps you might have done." Starsky nodded wistfully with this. "But the doctor's reckon that enough time had elapsed between you being poisoned and me for an experienced chemist to alter the potency of the chemical without having to change the original composition… by the time you reached the Professor's apartment the dosage you received may have been smaller but it was significantly more deadly." The curly haired brunette paused for a moment to allow his best friend and partner to take this all in, before slowly continuing.

"The compound was of course designed initially to intercept each of the body's most basic functions; to breathe, to sweat, to swallow, eventually causing the body to go into shock, and resulting in a long and painful death. In your case however the new formulation started wreaking havoc on your body from the very moment it was injected into your system. If affected your kidneys, your liver, your blood pressure shot up as the adrenaline forced your heart to work faster, causing a rapid build up of fluid around your joints and in muscle tissue, it intercepted your brain's natural ability to regulate body temperature causing you to sweat profusely, and weakened the reflexes of the muscles in your mouth, throat and jaw making it difficult to swallow. By the time they brought you into the emergency room your heart was already beginning to fail under the sheer strain being put on it, the doctors were bombarded with a huge implosion of unusual symptoms before they even realised what was going on."

Hutch frowned. "How long have I been out?" He asked.

"You've been in a coma for three days." Starsky finally revealed. "It was touch and go for a while, but you finally started to show some signs of improvement yesterday evening. Cheryl's been by to see how you are, and Captain Dobey and Huggy have been here everyday keeping an eye of you… we've all been very worried about you."

"And you?" Hutch pressed his partner at this. "How has this affected you? Any long effects?"

Starsky shook his head. "I was up and around within a few hours of receiving the antidote." He explained. "All bodily functions returned to normal. I'm still a little weak, and my joints are still sore. The cramps are still affecting more from time to time due to the dehydration… but apparently that's to be expected. The long term prognosis is good though, apparently there's no reason why I shouldn't make a full and complete recovery."

Hutch smiled a weak smile at this news, but it was the broadest and brightest he could manage under the circumstances. "I'm glad." He sighed.

"It's all thanks to you buddy." Starsky returned the gesture. "You saved my life… just promise me one thing though." He continued a little more severely, a troubled look in his liquid blue eyes, and an anxious frown furrowing his brow hardening his concerned features. "Don't ever do that to me again!"

Hutch nodded. "I promise." He smiled.

**Now you've read the chapter, please REVIEW!**

**Thank you!**


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